Root's Secrets

"Interesting. This room is packed with Scrolls. Task Records of Root Missions? It would be quite a sight if those top-secret missions were made public." An amusing thought had occurred to Neji.

The Scrolls in the room had to contain something important. Neji could clearly see three Root Ninja hidden around it, guarding the place.

"Too bad the Byakugan can't read what's written on them..." Neji shifted his gaze away with some regret.

"This room is small, but it has a powerful barrier seal." Neji's attention was drawn to a heavily protected room in the Root Base.

The room was not large, but its defenses were formidable. A dedicated barrier protected it, maintained by four Root Ninja, while three more lay hidden nearby.

Whether it was a defensive barrier or merely one that detected intruders, he could not tell.

"Not a bad barrier, but it can't stop my Byakugan." Neji poured more Eye Power into his Byakugan. His sight pierced the barrier and revealed what lay inside.

There was a small bookshelf beyond the barrier, lined with Scrolls.

Is this where Danzo keeps his Forbidden Techniques? The thought sprang to Neji's mind at once.

The Hokage had the Scroll of Seals, which recorded all kinds of Ninjutsu. Danzo must have copied quite a few techniques from it.

Maybe I could give it a try. A dangerous idea took shape in Neji's mind.

The problem Neji faced was that his Chakra would soon be unable to keep up with his eyes' demands. He could think of only one solution: a Tailed Beast.

Capturing a Tailed Beast to supply him with Chakra would solve the problem.

But that was impractical. Apart from the Nine-Tails, Neji had no idea where any of the Tailed Beasts' Jinchūriki were. Capturing one was out of the question.

That left him with a lesser option: Tailed Beast Chakra cultivated by someone after the fact.

A Tailed Beast could be divided further, and its Chakra could be cultivated and grown.

Orochimaru, for instance, had used powder scraped from one of the Eight-Tails' horns to grow a sizable section of horn.

Kazuma had also collected Nine-Tails Chakra during the Nine-Tails' attack. After cultivating it, he sealed it inside his son, creating a Pseudo-Nine-Tails Jinchuriki named Sora.

Clearly, Tailed Beast Chakra could be cultivated and expanded. Once cultivated, it was not a one-time resource. It could regenerate endlessly, like a smaller source of Tailed Beast Chakra.

Judging by the original story, if the Hokage had not talked Sora, the pseudo Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, down, a fifth tail might well have emerged.

And that share of Nine-Tails Chakra had only grown as much as it had because Kazuma stopped cultivating it early, worried that Sora lacked the aptitude to withstand any more.

Neji had his sights set on the Nine-Tails Chakra Kazuma had cultivated.

He knew that Sora, the Pseudo-Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, was at the Fire Temple. Even if he found a way to extract the Nine-Tails Chakra from Sora, though, he had no means of storing it long-term.

From what he knew, the amount of Nine-Tails Chakra was substantial—enough to bring out at least four tails in the Pseudo-Jinchūriki. Exactly how much there was, he could not say.

But Neji lacked a powerful, effective Sealing Jutsu, so he had no way to put that Nine-Tails Chakra to use.

That was why he had not gone straight to the Fire Temple.

Danzo was bound to have a powerful Sealing Jutsu. After all, he had an S-rank Reverse Four Symbols Seal prepared on his own body.

I'll look for an opening. With my current strength, why not give it a try if I get the chance? Neji thought.

He was confident in his abilities. In Konoha, the people stronger than him could be counted on one hand.

As he considered the matter, Neji finished surveying the entire Root Base.

I'll watch them a while longer and work out the guards' routine. Then I'll make my move when Danzo is away! Neji soon made up his mind.

As Hokage Advisor, Danzo could not spend every day at Root. He also had to go out on diplomatic business.

For instance, when Konoha needed funds, Danzo had to visit the Daimyo's Mansion and persuade the Daimyō to release them.

As Hokage Advisor and the man known throughout the Shinobi World as the Darkness of the Shinobi World, Danzo had no shortage of enemies who wanted him dead. Whenever he went out, he took Root's elite guards with him as a precaution. Root's headquarters would inevitably be short-handed then, its defenses weakened. That would be Neji's chance to strike.

Of course, however short-handed it became, it was still Root's headquarters. The risk would be enormous.

But I have to do this. I need a Sealing Jutsu powerful enough... With that thought, Neji deactivated his Byakugan and returned to the Hyuga Clan.

As soon as Neji got home, he found Hyuga Hiashi waiting for him.

"Clan Head." Neji greeted him as usual.

"Mm." Hyuga Hiashi nodded slightly. "You know our Hyuga Clan has been on good terms with Kirigakure's Kaguya Clan for generations, don't you?"

Neji nodded. The Kaguya Clan was a bloodline clan from Kirigakure that had maintained close ties with the Hyuga Clan for generations. He knew that much.

The Kaguya Clan's bloodline ability was called Shikotsumyaku, and few members of the clan ever awakened it. It was even harder to awaken than the Uchiha Clan's Sharingan.

The only person Neji associated with Shikotsumyaku was Kimimaro. He still remembered the impression Kimimaro had made on him when he watched the anime: that forest of stark white bones had stayed with him.

"Good." Hyuga Hiashi nodded. "In a little while, our clan will visit the Kaguya Clan in Kirigakure. You'll come along. With your strength, you're more than capable of protecting the Main Family."

"Yes, Clan Head," Neji replied, lowering his head.

Meanwhile, Fox, Tanuki, and Hound had failed to return to Root with their mission report. Their prolonged absence drew attention, and Root sent another three-person team to investigate the Uchiha Clan's Shrine.

When the three arrived, they found Fox, Tanuki, and Hound near the shrine's torii gate. Their masks had been removed, exposing their pale faces.

"Captain Black Fox, they're all badly injured," said a Root Ninja wearing a Bird Mask.

"What happened? Even if the person they were watching has awakened the Sharingan, he shouldn't have been able to injure them this badly," said a Root Ninja wearing a Cat-Faced Mask.

The Root Ninja called Black Fox wore a black fox mask marked with bold lines. "Bring these useless fools back," he said grimly. "They were only watching a student who isn't even a shinobi, and they ended up like this!"